Little Black card

7/20/2020

I love the look of simple images on a white card with lots of white-on-white texture which led me to wonder what would happen if I used the same design ideas but did them on black instead of white. The results are dramatic cards that are simple and elegant. For these cards, I used the Forever Fern stamp set from Stampin' Up! It is new in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog and has an entire suite of products including some really yummy Designer Series Paper. But for these cards, I focused solely on the stamps and dies. So, on y go! Let's get stamping.

For my first card, I challenged myself to use only black, white, and gray. I created the background by adhering black die-cut ferns to a black card front. I love, love, love the subtle texture this creates. For the focal image, I used a circle of vellum cardstock with Smoky Slate and Granite Gray leaf clusters. I added a length of metallic-edged ribbon and I embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder on Basic Black cardstock and fussy cut it.

Christmas will be here in only a few short months. Ok, maybe 6. But if you're making your own Christmas cards, it's never to early to start! Black isn't a very traditional Christmas color, but I think this card has a quiet elegance to it that reminds me of snowy night. I stamped the leaves in Old Olive and Mossy Meadow. I added the speckles behind the wreath with the speckle stamp from the set stamped with White Craft ink. I swiped the greeting from the Merry Moose stamp set. I really wanted a greeting that was a little bigger and bolder, but my new Christmas sets aren't arriving until tomorrow.

My final card pulls in a little Petal Pink with Soft Sea Foam and Pear Pizzazz leaves. I've been wanting to try this stamp set with some non-traditional colors, so this seemed like a good time to try the pink. I embossed the greeting with silver embossing powder. For the lines, I added strips of Tear & Tape to hold the embossing powder. I love the dramatic effect of the silver lines. For the hints of ribbon, I carefully cut the edge off of a length of the metallic-edged ribbon. I layered it under the greeting and once it was taped in place, I unraveled it a little more to get the wisps of silver thread.

One last tip, when you're making cards with a black base like these, the black Stampin' Dimensionals are amazing! I often forget to use them. But, with the black-on-black cardstocks, it's sooooo nice to not have the distracting white of the regular Stampin' Dimensionals when the card is turned sideways to open it.

I hope you have found these little black cards inspiring. You'll find all of the products I used listed below. Each one links to my online store. If you have any questions or need help ordering Stampin' Up! product, leave a comment or send me an e-mail. I'd love to help you however I can!

Product List